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Petty chairman said his company prepared for tough economic times
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, August 31, 2008
FONTANA, Calif. – Before going into a meeting with a potential sponsor of the No. 43 car, Petty Enterprises Chairman Barry Baker spoke briefly about what his company has learned in the 80 days since Boston Ventures bought a majority interest in the team.
“We’re really happy with how the performance is going, realizing that everyone is getting better and everyone we are competing against [is] getting better every week, and we’re trying to get better every week,” said Baker, a managing director at Boston Ventures, outside the No. 43 transporter at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway. “We’re doing fine.
“There’s [only] so much you can do mid-year. You’ve got equipment and you have stuff budgeted and you bought it. As we go to our budget meetings next year, we’re going to start really investing the money that Boston Ventures is used to investing for the 2009 season.”
Petty Enterprises does not yet have a sponsor for Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 car for next year to replace General Mills. Baker said that his company is optimistic about finding a sponsor but is prepared to put more money into the program. He said the Richard Petty Driving Experience is doing well and the profits from that can be put into the race team.
“We expected to pay more going in,” Baker said. “And if we get some sponsors to buy into what Petty means and a commitment to quality, then we’ll reach into the pocket for less.”
Boston Ventures has owned various media and entertainment companies.
"If you’ve looked at the companies that we’ve owned over the years, Motown Records, Six Flags, we’re very used to the advertising sponsorship business, so we’re not panicked, and we manage a couple of billion in assets,” Baker said. “Would I have loved to have had Cheerios? We would have. Are they the only advertiser? They’re not. And, so we’ll manage to find one or two.’’
Boston Ventures has a history of investing in family owned businesses and helping them keep up with industries where costs are escalating.
“We’re able to backstop this company without sponsors more than [the] organization prior to that could,” Baker said. “That is the way auto racing has become. You need financial backers in some way to make sure that they can take the pain of living through these transition periods not to mention the fact that [this] is the worst advertising environment since 1991 across every business.
“It’s not the worst thing for us because we’ve been through it. We’ve been doing this for 26 years. We’re used to advertising up turns and down turns."
Mentioned Drivers: Bobby Labonte
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